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Itineraries  /  Ultimate Mongolia
MN08 · Mongolia · Grand Tour

Ultimate Mongolia

Altai · Hustai · South Gobi · Ulaanbaatar
Duration
14 Days · 13 Nights
The route
Altai · Hustai · South Gobi · Ulaanbaatar
Style
Horses, the Gobi and the snow-leopard mountains
Best season
May – September · best
What you're tracking

What you'll see

Saker falcon
Saker falcon
Over the surrounding steppe.
Daurian jackdaw
Daurian jackdaw
Around the city.
Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's horse
Grazing the steppe.
Red deer
Red deer
In the valleys.
Day by day

The journey, one day at a time

01Arrive Ulaanbaatar

Arrive Ulaanbaatar

The journey begins.

Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, met and transferred to your accommodation. Ulaanbaatar is the one city in a vast empty land — the staging point for the steppe, Gobi and Altai.

02Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar

A full day in the field.

A city day before the steppe and the Gobi.

03Ulaanbaatar → Hustai National Park

To Hustai National Park

On to the next.

Transfer to Hustai National Park. Dawn and dusk drives for the wild takhi horses. Steppe wildlife, deer and marmots on the grassland.

04Hustai National Park

Hustai National Park

A full day in the field.

Steppe wildlife, deer and marmots on the grassland. A full day with the world's last wild horses. The takhi of Hustai, once extinct in the wild, now run free again — one of conservation's great triumphs.

05Hustai National Park → South Gobi Desert

To South Gobi Desert

On to the next.

Transfer to South Gobi Desert. The singing dunes, ice gorge and desert wildlife. Wild camels, ibex and the Flaming Cliffs.

06South Gobi Desert

South Gobi Desert

A full day in the field.

Wild camels, ibex and the Flaming Cliffs. A full day across the Gobi's dunes and plains. The Gobi's Flaming Cliffs, where the first dinosaur eggs were unearthed, are among the most storied fossil sites on earth.

07South Gobi Desert

South Gobi Desert

A full day in the field.

A full day across the Gobi's dunes and plains. Desert wildlife and dinosaur cliffs by 4x4.

08South Gobi Desert

South Gobi Desert

A full day in the field.

Desert wildlife and dinosaur cliffs by 4x4.

09South Gobi Desert → Altai Mountains

To Altai Mountains

On to the next.

Transfer to Altai Mountains. Tracker-led searches for snow leopard in the high valleys. High-mountain wildlife — argali, ibex and golden eagles.

10Altai Mountains

Altai Mountains

A full day in the field.

High-mountain wildlife — argali, ibex and golden eagles. A full day in the snow-leopard mountains. The Altai is one of the only places on earth to seek a wild snow leopard — the elusive 'ghost of the mountains'.

11Altai Mountains

Altai Mountains

A full day in the field.

A full day in the snow-leopard mountains. The Kazakh eagle hunters and their golden eagles.

12Altai Mountains

Altai Mountains

A full day in the field.

The Kazakh eagle hunters and their golden eagles.

13Altai Mountains

Altai Mountains

A full day in the field.

Tracker-led searches for snow leopard in the high valleys.

14Depart Altai Mountains

Departure

The journey ends.

A final morning in Altai Mountains — a last outing or a slow start as time allows — before the transfer onward and the journey home.

When to travel

The season changes what you see.

May – September

Peak season

The mild season — the time to head into the wilderness.

Year-round

Good season

A year-round gateway; winters are brutally cold.

Destinations

Where this journey goes

Wildlife you may see
Leopard Snow Leopard

Make it yours.

Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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